On-Page Optimization Checklist

by Carlo on February 7th, 2011

Hey guys, I’m going to write about how we operate and do our SEO for our clients here at Buzz Starter. I’d like to write about on how we do our on-page SEO, be it for existing sites or new ones. The cool thing about on-page optimization is that, this is something that is completely necessary and something that you have control over. Now, this may not boost your site up immediately for first page SERP positioning (unless it is a very low search volume word), this is still a necessary set of steps for your search longevity.

Perform a comprehensive keyword research and pick out keywords that best define your business.

If this is an existing site with web analytics in place, take a look at the keywords report and pick out words in this bucket that drives the most visits to the site.

Perform a competitor analysis and take a look at what keywords they are ranking or trying to rank for. This will come handy later when you want to pick words to either stay clear off or head into their search space.

Follow an optimized URL structure that will allow you to include keywords relevant to your pages.

Robots.txt and sitemap.xml configuration. Make sure these are properly configured using industry best practices.

Proper use of rel=”canonical” and rel=”nofollow” on similar and/or pages on your site.

Create a really good 301 and 404 handlers for better bot handling.

Proper use of meta keywords and description based on best practices using keywords made on your research.

Write exceptional content on your homepage and top level pages using your primary keywords or what other SEO professionals call “head terms.”

Publish new content on a regular basis to keep bots coming back to your site.

Expose your main keywords in your navigation and/or a tag cloud. Only use text for your links.

Whew! Now that’s a huge list and definitely other people out there may think of other things to add to this list (we would be interested to hear them!) but this is how we do it here at Buzz Starter. If you ever want to learn more, feel free to contact us, we’d love to hear from you!